"This is so much fun. I almost killed a pig but he got away. I saw pig tracks on the ground and when I followed them I heard snorting in the underbrush. The pig was digging in the dirt with his snout and I crept up on it holding my breath. His ears twitched because I stepped on a branch and gave myself away. His eyes darted in my direction and he took off running. Next time I'll have to get closer and sneak up on it. Then I can spear him through the heart."
This is what I was thinking when I saw Ralph and Simon wasting their time building huts on the beach. Ralph and Simon are so lame because the huts are crooked and falling down. The grass that they put on the roof won't keep out the rain. The logs are tied together with string that they've made from reeds and tendrils and one strong wind will blow the hut apart. Ralph flaunts his ideas like they're actually good. He actually listens to what that fat, four-eyed loser has to say and together they only come up with wrong ideas. Piggy gives me the creeps. He doesn't have the courage to look me in the eye. He only gives me furtive glances out of the sides of his eyes.
This heat is so oppressive but still they're wasting their sweat trying to build these huts. We should all be hunting. We need food. We need a lookout. We need to have weapons with barbs so that more of us can hunt. Nobody listens to Ralph anyway. We have stupid meetings where the little ones look confused, scared, and bewildered and then nobody does what they're supposed to do. The littluns love sitting on the ground listening to Ralph because it reminds them of the assemblies at school. But anyone can see we're not at school anymore. The boys are half naked, their skin sunburned to a crisp, their school uniforms all ripped up, their faces dirty and sweaty. Kids raise their hand and Ralph hands them the conch as if the conch has real power. What a joke. We need a leader who the kids look up to and who scares the kids and punishes them when they don't listen. That's the only way we'll get anything done. Ralph is way too democratic. We need a dictator. We need me.
I love this island that is festooned with wild flowers and bright green tendrils clinging to tree trunks. I love the mysterious and inscrutable jungle that hides all the animals and birds in the underbrush. I love the glimmer of the lagoon as the sunlight dances off its surface. I love this adventure.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Blog 2 (from Piggy's perspective)
I try to help but nobody will listen to me. I think I'm the smartest boy here but things are really warped. When the little ones started talking about the beastie I tried to tell Jack and Ralph what they were afraid of but they just got mad at me. Jack and Ralph looked at me scornfully. I really admire Ralph because he has good ideas and he seems like a fair leader. I don't like Jack and I know that Jack doesn't like me. Jack is like a little kid pretending to be tough and brave but he's also really bossy and officious. Every time I hold the conch and want to say something nobody listens and people tell me to keep quiet but when Jack or Ralph holds the conch everybody listens to them.
There was such a tumult when Ralph suggested making a fire. Everybody thought that was a great idea but I thought that was pretty stupid. Who would keep it going? Who would see it? What is the point? But everybody wanted to do it so they grabbed my glasses to start the fire by reflecting the sun off the glass. That was pretty smart but I could have told them how stupid they were because all of a sudden the fire spread and was burning everything. Everybody hates me and thinks that I'm pathetic but I'm really smarter than everybody here and I had to laugh when I saw the whole mountain starting to burn. It was irresistible and I felt like saying, " I told you so." Ralph and Jack need my help but they won't listen. We should have built huts on the beach to protect us but instead everyone thought that building a fire was such a good idea and look what happens. Then one of the little ones was missing and I was the only one who noticed. I'm the responsible one. I'm the one who can make the best decisions and take care of the little ones. But because I'm fat, wear glasses, and am not nimble like the other skinny boys, they all think I'm a loser. I hope I can convince Ralph to be my friend and to be on my side because I'm afraid of Jack.
There was such a tumult when Ralph suggested making a fire. Everybody thought that was a great idea but I thought that was pretty stupid. Who would keep it going? Who would see it? What is the point? But everybody wanted to do it so they grabbed my glasses to start the fire by reflecting the sun off the glass. That was pretty smart but I could have told them how stupid they were because all of a sudden the fire spread and was burning everything. Everybody hates me and thinks that I'm pathetic but I'm really smarter than everybody here and I had to laugh when I saw the whole mountain starting to burn. It was irresistible and I felt like saying, " I told you so." Ralph and Jack need my help but they won't listen. We should have built huts on the beach to protect us but instead everyone thought that building a fire was such a good idea and look what happens. Then one of the little ones was missing and I was the only one who noticed. I'm the responsible one. I'm the one who can make the best decisions and take care of the little ones. But because I'm fat, wear glasses, and am not nimble like the other skinny boys, they all think I'm a loser. I hope I can convince Ralph to be my friend and to be on my side because I'm afraid of Jack.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Blog 1
My mom was crying when she said good bye at the airport and she said to me, "At least you will be safe from the war. I will be there in a few days. I love you."
I had a dream about her last night when I was lying on the sand trying to ignore the strident sounds of animals hiding in the jungle. This is crazy because now the plane crashed and we're totally lost and I don't even know if any of the other kids are alive. I haven't seen anybody and I'm really scared. Last night I was so thirsty that I tried drinking the ocean water but it made my stomach hurt. My thoughts are a jumble and I don't know what to do.
This morning when the sun came up it got really hot. I started to explore the island and came to a beautiful turquoise lagoon. The water looked so smooth and silky that I couldn't resist and I jumped into the water. The water enveloped me in it's coolness and since my stomach was grumbling from hunger I tried to catch some of the small fish that were glistening just under the surface. They were too fast for me and by the time I finished, I was so hungry I could devour a whole cow. But all I could find were some red berries that I hoped were not poisonous. I'm beginning to think that this isn't so bad. There are no grown ups to tell me what to do and this could turn out to be a great adventure that I can tell all my friends about when I go back home.
All of a sudden I hear the most amazing sound. It sounds like the bellowing of an angry bull. The birds in the trees are frightened and leave their nests squawking. I listen and in the distance I can hear someone shouting. I start running towards the voice and when I get close enough I see about ten other boys clambering up the sandy ridge of the beach. WOW! There are other kids here from the plane. My body starts to quiver with excitement. We all start jumping around, doing somersaults in the sand, shouting, laughing, falling into a sweaty heap together. Two of the boys are just watching us. One of them is fat, wearing glasses and his school uniform that really looks weird because it's so hot and most of us have taken off our shirts. The other boy is serious but he is smiling and holding a large shell in his hand. He raises the shell to his mouth and blows again and when he does this several more boys come running towards our group out of the bushes.
We spend the next few hours comparing stories about what we did when the plane first crashed.
"I thought we were all going to die and it was really scary," said one of the little boys."
"When the plane crashed, I climbed out the window and my head was bleeding," I said. Then we decided to elect a leader for our group who would be like a president and a boss. I voted for Ralph because he seems fair and doesn't just tell us what to do. Jack seems to be pretty confident and courageous but he seems pretty selfish and just wants to have things his way. I like them both and now that we're all together I think that this will turn out to be a lot of fun.
I had a dream about her last night when I was lying on the sand trying to ignore the strident sounds of animals hiding in the jungle. This is crazy because now the plane crashed and we're totally lost and I don't even know if any of the other kids are alive. I haven't seen anybody and I'm really scared. Last night I was so thirsty that I tried drinking the ocean water but it made my stomach hurt. My thoughts are a jumble and I don't know what to do.
This morning when the sun came up it got really hot. I started to explore the island and came to a beautiful turquoise lagoon. The water looked so smooth and silky that I couldn't resist and I jumped into the water. The water enveloped me in it's coolness and since my stomach was grumbling from hunger I tried to catch some of the small fish that were glistening just under the surface. They were too fast for me and by the time I finished, I was so hungry I could devour a whole cow. But all I could find were some red berries that I hoped were not poisonous. I'm beginning to think that this isn't so bad. There are no grown ups to tell me what to do and this could turn out to be a great adventure that I can tell all my friends about when I go back home.
All of a sudden I hear the most amazing sound. It sounds like the bellowing of an angry bull. The birds in the trees are frightened and leave their nests squawking. I listen and in the distance I can hear someone shouting. I start running towards the voice and when I get close enough I see about ten other boys clambering up the sandy ridge of the beach. WOW! There are other kids here from the plane. My body starts to quiver with excitement. We all start jumping around, doing somersaults in the sand, shouting, laughing, falling into a sweaty heap together. Two of the boys are just watching us. One of them is fat, wearing glasses and his school uniform that really looks weird because it's so hot and most of us have taken off our shirts. The other boy is serious but he is smiling and holding a large shell in his hand. He raises the shell to his mouth and blows again and when he does this several more boys come running towards our group out of the bushes.
We spend the next few hours comparing stories about what we did when the plane first crashed.
"I thought we were all going to die and it was really scary," said one of the little boys."
"When the plane crashed, I climbed out the window and my head was bleeding," I said. Then we decided to elect a leader for our group who would be like a president and a boss. I voted for Ralph because he seems fair and doesn't just tell us what to do. Jack seems to be pretty confident and courageous but he seems pretty selfish and just wants to have things his way. I like them both and now that we're all together I think that this will turn out to be a lot of fun.
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